[ftpaddict]

I'm the type who always likes to carry their entire arsenal around.

That being said, could you recommend a good backpack (backpack!) that can carry 5-7 lenses (70-200mm, 18-50mm, 50mm f/1.7, 28-80mm + some M42 primes) and 1-2 bodies? (K100D + ZX-30)

I don't have a laptop to lug around, so I don't need those variants.


Thanks in advance for the input!




Dan

[ftpaddict]

Hmm... not too many helpful Pentaxians on the forums today.

[PFH]

I use a Lovepro Slingshot, not a real backpack, but as close as you get. I can carry around body with telezoom mounted and 5 other lenses + flash unit. In an extra compartment you can stuck away a extra body. Beside that there´s room for batteries, cards and various accessories. The big plus with the Slingshot is that it allows easy access to the camera.

Check at Lowepro, tamrac, temba, Kata, crumpler, naneu pro, think tank...website, you might find there the model that fit you better. I would recommend you to check the canon backpacks, they usually have a good price/quality ratio (I am not kidding, they are quite cheap)

[monochrome]

I'm traveling today and I have a LowePro Mini Trekker - no laptop pocket in this one. I believe I could easily carry the gear you described and then some.

I have in the main compartment:

K10 body - F35-70 mounted
F70-210, A35-105; FA50; FA35; S1-105; Olympius XA; Sekonic L398; Promaster 7500 EDF flash; 3 hoods; rocket blaster.

In the external main pocket I have:
OmniPod beanbag, Pentax charger; compact LiOn charger & batteries; cleaning stuff and small stuff

In the pockets on the inside of the lid I have a large filter wallet and other small stuff like a card wallet.

Backpack has a waist belt and sternum belt and is quite comfortable with all these heavy lenses - the beanbag alone weighs 3 1/2 pounds. The back pad is very comfortable and breathes well.

Externally there is a center-mounted tripod pocket and bungees, plus all the traditional attachment loops LowePro always has.

I did about a four mile walkaround today and I was never uncomfortable - and I'm 53 and out of shape.

[heatherslightbox]

Definitely check out Tenba. I had been considering them for a while when I finally got to a camera store that had them in stock. Even though I didn't walk out with anything, I was impressed with the padding and overall build quality. They're not as cheap as some bags, but you can definitely tell that the quality is there.

Tenba - Backpacks

It sounds like to me that either a Shootout Mini or Small would work for you. The mini doesn't have a laptop compartment, but the small does. The Shootout daypack is about the same size as the Shootout small, but it has a zip-out pouch on the back that allows you to carry other stuff like jackets, food, etc.

Even if the backpack has a laptop compartment that you don't need, you can still use the compartment for other things.

I've got the Shootout Mini on order with Adorama and I'm hoping to get it sometime next week.

HTH,
Heather

[Entropy]

I'm traveling today and I have a LowePro Mini Trekker - no laptop pocket in this one. I believe I could easily carry the gear you described and then some.

I have in the main compartment:

K10 body - F35-70 mounted
F70-210, A35-105; FA50; FA35; S1-105; Olympius XA; Sekonic L398; Promaster 7500 EDF flash; 3 hoods; rocket blaster.

In the external main pocket I have:
OmniPod beanbag, Pentax charger; compact LiOn charger & batteries; cleaning stuff and small stuff

In the pockets on the inside of the lid I have a large filter wallet and other small stuff like a card wallet.

Backpack has a waist belt and sternum belt and is quite comfortable with all these heavy lenses - the beanbag alone weighs 3 1/2 pounds. The back pad is very comfortable and breathes well.

Externally there is a center-mounted tripod pocket and bungees, plus all the traditional attachment loops LowePro always has.

I did about a four mile walkaround today and I was never uncomfortable - and I'm 53 and out of shape.

Do the shoulder straps have D-rings on them?

I've found that a lot of the photographic backpacks do not have any D-rings on the shoulder straps - this is really disappointing because it means you can't clip your neckstrap to the D-rings to let the camera hang down nearly at the ready while hiking.

I have a Kelty hiking/camping backpack that is nice other than the lack of organization capability in the main pocket. It has trekking pole/monopod slots in the sides, side pockets for misc stuff such as strobes, a VERY nice waistbelt that I can clip two lens cases to, and D-rings on the shoulder straps I can clip by K20D's neckstrap to with carabiners. Unclip the lower 'biner and the camera is all ready to shoot - reclip it and it is at the ready but doesn't bounce/swing around.

[monochrome]

No, there are not traditional hiking/backpacking D-Rings, nor the other clips, pockets and hangers associated with trek packs (I have a Kelty Super Tioga for expedition hiking and a Lowe Alpine Scirocco II for shorter treks, as well as a pretty useless Kelty internal frame daypack). This is a typical photo backpack.

There is a 1" x 6" long nylon web loop stitched into the front of each shoulder strap. The sternum strap is attached to this loop with a combination Delrin slider. I can't picture your rigging, but I guess you could attach 'biners to these loops above and below the slider.